John Glennon of the Tennessean profiles former Seahawks linebacker Greg Gaines, who has struggled with addiction to pain medication after a career that led Steve Largent to call him the toughest player he ever saw. Glennon: "Indeed, Gaines' continuing struggles are representative of life after football for many ex-players. In his case, 40 surgeries and the pain medicine prescribed to cope with them helped make him an addict." This is a gruesome story complete with a gruesome photo showing Gaines' mangled knee during a workout. It's also very much a developing story. Every day sounds like a challenge for Gaines.

Clare Farnsworth of seahawks.com offers highlights from an eventful day at Seahawks camp. The situation at left tackle remains in flux.

Also from Farnsworth: Seahawks general manager John Schneider says the team is more talented following a flurry of moves. That appears true on the offensive line with Stacy Andrews' addition in particular. There are a lot of question marks, though.

Danny O'Neil of the Seattle Times runs through the Seahawks' recent roster changes.

Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times says it's clear Seattle is in rebuilding mode. Brewer: "The front office is using this season as one big evaluation period, and it will keep shuffling the roster, attempting to find long-term solutions to the huge problem it inherited. That's how the first season in every rebuilding process must work. The problem is that the Seahawks took a sledgehammer to their roster just days before the season is set to begin. It means they're almost guaranteed to start the year slowly because so many new players must get comfortable."

Greg Johns of seattlepi.com says the Seahawks appear thin at safety and the team is "buying time" on the offensive line while Russell Okung recovers from a sprained ankle.

Eric D. Williams of the Tacoma News Tribune offers Schneider's reasoning for releasing T.J. Houshmandzadeh: "It was really just playing the young guys. Much like with Josh (Wilson), we felt like there was a group of guys behind him that were ready to take a step forward. T.J. is a good football player, he just happens to be a little bit older than the other guys, and we had some guys -- Mike Williams and Deon Butler and Ben Obomanu -- we had some guys step forward."

Dave Boling of the Tacoma News Tribune checks in with new Seahawks offensive line coach Pat Ruel.

John Morgan of Field Gulls looks at players Seattle has subtracted from its roster.

John Boyle of the Everett Herald quotes Seahawks coach Pete Carroll as saying the team "needed to do this" -- overhaul the roster.

Bryan Burwell of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says there's hope for the Rams, as evidenced by their acquisition of Mark Clayton from the Ravens. Burwell: "The Clayton trade is not a move that simply upgrades the back end of the 53-man roster. Clayton is expected to be an immediate-impact starting wide receiver. He will be in uniform Sunday for the Arizona Cardinals - and you can bet he will be fast-tracked this week to be a serious weapon in the passing game almost immediately, if not sooner."

Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch also sees reason for hope in St. Louis. Miklasz: "There are no expectations of the Rams making the playoffs in 2010, no hope of competing for a Super Bowl, no delusions about where the Rams are and how far they must go to become an elite franchise. Only a hair-on-fire optimist would predict a winning record for the 2010 Rams. But it's been a while since fans had something to look forward to."

Bill Coats of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch checks in with converted basketball player Fendi Onobun, who earned a spot on the Rams' initial 53-man roster as a tight end.

Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo and general manager Billy Devaney crossed paths with Clayton at the Sam Bradford workout. Devaney: "We were in the middle of the field talking to him, never thinking that he was going to wind up with the Rams. I remember, I told Spags, 'That's a good kid.' He's a classy, classy kid -- the way he presented himself and the way he carried himself."

Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic says Darnell Dockett is working to justify the new contract he signed. Dockett: "I'm not satisfied. I want to do something that a lot of guys aren't able to do and that's outplay three contracts, back to back to back. That's my mind-set. I'm raising my standards completely high. If I'm able to accomplish this last one, then I think I'll pat myself on the back."

Darren Urban of azcardinals.com says Deuce Lutui is the Cardinals' starting left guard again, but coach Ken Whisenhunt wants to keep pressure on him. Lutui: "I came back in shape. Maybe not the weight they wanted, but I passed the condition test." Lutui has been the best guard in camp for the Cardinals. Whisenhunt wasn't happy about Lutui's weight, but he wasn't going to play a lesser candidate at the position. Lutui recovered nicely from a rough offseason, it appears, but will the Cardinals want to reward him with a long-term extension? Probably not without a stronger commitment from Lutui.

Also from Urban: Derek Anderson's thoughts about becoming the Cardinals' starting quarterback.

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com says the 49ers don't have to worry about Troy Smith's work ethic. The 49ers know what they are getting from Smith because their quarterbacks coach, Michael Johnson, was an assistant with Baltimore when the Ravens drafted Smith. Maiocco: "Smith appeared in 14 games with the Baltimore Ravens in three seasons. After starting two games as a rookie, Smith attempted just 13 passes the past two seasons. The Ravens cut him, as they decided to go with two quarterbacks -- Joe Flacco and Marc Bulger -- on their regular-season roster."

Also from Maiocco: The 49ers will not have Ahmad Brooks back from injury in time for Week 1.

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee says Brooks suffered his kidney laceration during a freak accident with a blocking sled. Barrows: "A blocking sled did the damage when he hit it on the morning of Aug. 6 and it ricocheted back up and struck a rib under his left arm. The impact didn't break the rib, but it forced it into the kidney." The worst blocking-sled injury I recall came when a Seattle rookie named Tim Watson impaled a knee on a steel hook used to drag the sled from station to station. Such hooks were subsequently removed.

Also from Barrows: The Titans and Steelers joined Seattle in pursuing former 49ers running back Michael Robinson.

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News says Scot McCloughan's departure to Seattle deprived Nate Davis of a chief supporter within the 49ers' organization. McCloughan works for Seattle now, but the Seahawks appear to favor keeping only two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster.

Daniel Brown of the San Jose Mercury News checks in with 49ers rookies Anthony Davis and Mike Iupati, who make their first regular-season NFL starts Sunday.